Praising His Glorious Grace

Ephesians 1:6-12
Introduction:
King Cyrus, the founder of the Persian Empire, captured a prince and his family. When they came before him, the king asked the prince, “What will you give me if I release you?” “The half of my wealth,” was his reply. “And if I release your children?” “Everything I possess.” “And if I release your wife?” “Your Majesty, I will give myself.” Cyrus was so moved by his devotion that he freed them all. As they returned home, the prince said to his wife, “Wasn’t Cyrus a handsome man!” With a look of deep love for her husband, she said to him, “I didn’t notice. I could only keep my eyes on you--the one who was willing to give himself for me.”
It is incredible to me that we should so easily take our eyes off of Jesus, the One who was willing to give Himself for us. He should have our complete attention, our most ardent allegiance, our passionate devotion. If we should have a thousand tongues, they would not be sufficient to sing His praises, and yet, we fail to use the one tongue we have.
One thing we must understand is that this is all about God. This Bible and this Church exist for His praise. Each one of us live for the praise of the glory of His grace. On our own, we are nothing and we have nothing to offer to God. God, on the other hand is everything and has everything to offer to us. He receives praise not because we are so good, but He deserves and receives praise because He is so good.
The glorious grace of God should excite and thrill us. As we look at the Word of God, we need to know that this is our story! This is written about the relationship God wants to have with you.

I. ACCEPTANCE-
God be praised! God has received us through His grace. Rejoice!
Through the grace of God, we have the opportunity to find acceptance in the Son of God
Acceptance doesn’t come by straightening ourselves out or turning over a new leaf
We can’t be accepted through dedicating our lives to doing good works
The means of acceptance is the grace of God, His willingness to let Jesus pay our sin debt
Now, don’t misunderstand: acceptance doesn’t mean He condones our sinfulness
If you would understand God’s view of sin, look to Calvary where Jesus was punished for our sin
Look on as the sun fails at noon and the earth trembles with the shame of Jesus bearing our sin
But, in spite of our sin, God causes us to be acceptable.
He washes us and covers our sin under the blood of Jesus. He pardons us
What happens when you try to remove all the blood from a body? You have a corpse
That’s exactly what happens when you try to remove the blood from the Gospel. A dead religion
Don’t shun that live-giving precious fountain that flows for our deliverance
He will grant us access to Himself and will make us a part of His family when we come to Christ
Though we were all wretched sinners, God bore the penalty of our sin
The Bible says in 1 Peter 2:24 "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."
If you are a child of God, your spirit should be reveling in the praise of the glory of His grace
If you have not come to Christ, knowing that He will